Tag Archives: Palestinian trade unions

Democracy and Workers’ Rights Centre, Palestine Media Release, 9 November 2014 DWRC denounces violations of freedom of association and the right to organize of public sector employees by the Palestinian Authority, and calls for international solidarity The Democracy and Workers’ … Continue reading →

30 July 2014 Stand with Palestinian workers in Gaza: a call for trade union solidarity The Palestinian trade union movement, with support from with support from the Congress of South African Trade Unions and its affiliates, is unanimously calling on … Continue reading →

22 April 2014, from Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign The area of Tulkarm has become synonymous for the number of recycling plants established within the occupied West Bank. The Nitzanei Shalom settlement industrial zone, which Israelis refer to as ‘Buds of Peace’, … Continue reading →

As governments and civil society groups around the world increase their efforts to target goods produced in Israel’s illegal settlements, the Israeli government and BDS critics are stepping up the propaganda counter offensive.

One of the main tactics adopted by those seeking to stem the boycott tide is to state that these measures actually harm Palestinians. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has been pushing back against a boycott along such lines for some time, but given recent developments in South Africa and the European Union, there has been a renewed emphasis on the supposed counterproductive effect of such tactics.

There have been joint Israeli government-settler propaganda initiatives, and even an official, MFA-circulated document on “the effects of labelling settlement products on the Palestinian economy”. “Should Europeans be successful in banning Israeli products from the West Bank”, Israel’s ambassador to the UN said in June, “this will bring about the loss of jobs of several thousands of Palestinians”.

Interestingly, there are parallels here with arguments used against the international boycott campaign during the time of Apartheid South Africa, with ANC activists having to confront claims “that Non-White people will be the first to be hit by external boycotts”. Those comparisons aside, the argument is flawed for four reasons.

Nazareth – Security cameras and a heavy metal door secure the otherwise inconspicuous apartment. This is the office of the Arab Workers Union in Israel (AWU). Photographs of local demonstrations and flags of international trade unions drape the interior walls. Wehbe Badarneh, 43, from the village of Arabah, is the general secretary of the trade union. He prepared coffee over an open gas stove and offered freshly baked pastries. Fadwa Ali, 42, of the village of Kaukab Abu Al-Hija, arrived shortly after. Fadwa is one of the main organizers of the Women’s Platform, an affiliated section of the AWU. We sat down to discuss issues effecting Israeli Palestinian women workers, and the trade union’s related activities.

The AWU in Israel is a young, independent trade union which primarily organizes and defends Palestinians citizens of Israel who work in factories in Nazareth, Haifa and the Galilee, along with women working in agriculture. The trade union is run solely by volunteers and relies on donations from trade unions internationally in order to sustain itself. It runs awareness campaigns to inform Arab workers of their labor rights, organizes them across workplaces, and provides legal representation in labor courts.

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A new factsheet produced by the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign highlights the impact of the Wall on Palestinian workers…

“The Apartheid Wall has been deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice, yet the international community has done nothing to halt its encroachment on Palestinian land. Palestinian workers and farmers have been the most affected by the ongoing construction of the wall, thus we reach out to trade unions, invoking the best practices of trade union solidarity and internationalism under the tried and true union slogan of ‘an injury to one is an injury to all!’. We implore workers around the world in the spirit of the South African Anti-Apartheid struggle, where trade union solidarity was critical, to raise awareness within their unions and workplaces about the daily violations Palestinian workers and farmers have to endure. Help us expose the companies complicit in the construction of the Apartheid Wall.” Access the Factsheet on the AUSPalestine RESOURCES page.